Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah. Salutations to all the teachers.
ਮ੍ਰਿਗ ਮੀਨ ਭ੍ਰਿੰਗ ਪਤੰਗ ਕੁੰਚਰ ਏਕ ਦੋਖ ਬਿਨਾਸ |
ਪੰਚ ਦੋਖ ਅਸਾਧ ਜਾ ਮਹਿ ਤਾ ਕੀ ਕੇਤਕ ਆਸ ॥੧॥
Mrig meen bhring patang kunchar ek dokh binaas
Panch dokh asaad jaa ki mahi taa ki ketak aas
The deer, the fish, the bee, the moth, and the elephant are destroyed, each for a single fault. What then of the one (human) filled with the five defects?
- Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagat Ravidas, Raag Asa, Ang 486:1
Consider the moth, drawn to light, as if powerless. Consider the fish, pulled in towards the hook by the allure of bait. Consider the bee, automatically drawn to flowers, rats to cheese, or birds to grain. They are all pulled, as if by some mysterious force, towards these objects - often to their deaths.
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As humans, we watch these beings move down these paths in the same way as we might watch water roll down a hill. It is automatic, predictable - a simple matter of cause and effect. But when it comes to us, we think we are smarter than that. We feel that we are making our own decisions, thoughts as our tool, able to rise above the mindless movements exhibited by the rest of the natural world.
With a little investigation, however, we find that this is not quite the case. We are just like the moth, only that our desires and movements towards them are more complex. We are just like the fish, swimming towards the objects of the senses, but we use our thoughts to rationalize our actions. All we are really doing is moving away from suffering and towards happiness - but we create stories that obscure our own simplicity from view - lest the game be given away.
Over the past several weeks, we have been discussing Praanaayaam - the fourth limb of Yoga. These begin with breathing techniques, through which the mind can be made calm, so that the Yogi is prepared to move further inward.
As a brief recap, each consecutive limb of Yoga takes us one further level inward.
We start with the Yamas. These simplify our interactions with the external world, so that we can let go of it more easily.
Next, the Niyamas simplify our personal conduct, and Aasana solidifies the body so that these layers are no longer a distraction.
The fourth limb - Praanaayaam - helps us calm the mind and explore the breath, as well as the underlying Praana, so that we can see it as an object, rather than as “a part of me.”
After Praanaayaam, the mind becomes still, and is prepared to go inward. However, it is still open to distraction.
Consider a time when you sat down to meditate and got distracted by a sound. The mind is momentarily agitated - perhaps a feeling of irritation arises, maybe anger. If you are particularly rajasic you may open your eyes or get up to try to quiet the sound.
This is not only true for sound but any sense perception.
Perhaps you felt uncomfortable in your seat, or maybe you felt an urge to scratch a particularly persistent itch. The senses have a strong power over us, and impel us to action - just as a moth is pulled to a flame.
While this certainly happens during meditation, it can also happen in our daily lives, especially when we are trying to concentrate.
Think back to a time where you were trying to work, but a loud sound in the background became the center of your attention. Or a time when you were trying to watch a TV show but people were talking loudly near you. How did it feel? Good or bad?
Let us break this down from the standpoint of Yogic psychology, using an experiment.
Experiment #1: You are reading these words. Light from the screen enters your eyes, and is perceived by the sense of sight. At the same time, there are other sensations which you perhaps will not notice until reading the words:
The taste of your own mouth
The sensation of your breath
The sound of the street (or the birds)
Notice how these sensations were present, but somewhat obscured or abstracted from your attention. As you read through the list, however, they suddenly became available and more clearly perceived. How did that happen?
While the sense of sight was occupied with the words on the screen, the other senses were also active. However, the manas was not attached to them. As soon as you read through the list, the manas took the form of those senses to some degree, and the ahamkaar, taking credit said “I suddenly became aware of the taste of my own mouth.”
Notice how you may not have directly willed the manas to take the form of taste or touch or hearing, but just reading the words was sufficient for the manas to run out in those directions.
This is not only true for physical sensations or objects, but for subtle objects too. Let us try an experiment with subtle sounds:
Experiment #2:
Read this to yourself.
Read it silently.
Don’t move your lips.
Don’t make a sound.
Listen to yourself.
Listen without hearing anything.
What a wonderfully weird thing, huh?
NOW MAKE THIS PART LOUD!
SCREAM IT IN YOUR MIND!
DROWN EVERYTHING OUT.
Now, hear a whisper.
A tiny whisper.
Now, read this next line in your best crotchety old man voice:
“Hello there sonny, does this town have a post office?”
Awesome! Who was that?
Whose voice was that?
Certainly not yours.
How do you do that?
How!?
Must be magic!!
- Magic, by Shel Silverstein
For most of us, the manas takes the shape of these subtle objects, whether we will it to or not. It just sort of happens.
To show how this tendency overpowers our will (ie. the buddhi), try this simple experiment with subtle sights.
Experiment #3:
Make sure to follow the instructions carefully:
Don’t imagine a monkey in a polka dot skirt.
What happened? Notice, even though the buddhi was trying to prevent the subtle object from appearing in the mind, the monkey in the polka dot skirt appeared anyway. If the buddhi can barely overpower a subtle object, what then to say of gross objects?
इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते |
तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ||
Indriyaanaam hi charataam yanMano’nuvidheeyate
Tadasya harati pragyaam vaayurNaavamIvAmbhasi
[Even one of] the roaming senses, upon which the mind is engaged, carries away the intellect, just as a strong wind sweeps a boat off its course on the water.
- Bhagavad Gita, 2.67
This tendency of the manas to run after sense objects isn’t good or bad. The mind has an innate outward inclination, like water running downhill. As water simply follows the flow of gravity, attention simply follows the flow of past conditioning, or karma. In Yoga, however, we are making an effort to tilt the mind in the opposite direction - so that attention flows inwards towards the Self.
The sixth limb of Yoga is dhaaranaa (धारणा), or concentration. The mind is to be fixed on an object, and when it is distracted, we slowly bring it back. However, if the senses are not withdrawn, it is very difficult to concentrate.
This is why people may often say “it’s too loud for me to meditate.”
This is where Pratyaahaar comes in.
What is Pratyaahaar?
Pratyaahaar (प्रत्याहार, pronounced prut-yah-haar) can be broken up into the prefix prati (प्रति), which means “against” or “reverse”, and aahaar (आहार), which literally means “food”, or “that which is consumed.”
The idea here is that we are constantly consuming information through our sense organs, just as we consume food through our mouth. Just like the quality of food affects the quality of the physical body, the quality of our sense perceptions affects the quality of our mind and mental tendencies.
We don’t eat from the garbage can, but we are completely indiscriminate about what we consume through our senses.
With Pratyaahaar, the Yogi is just as intentional about what they consume through the senses, as one may be about what they put in their mouth.
Pratyaahaar [is when] the senses do not join with their respective objects, and the chitta in its own shape.
- Yoga Sutras, 2.54
Pratyaahaar is the limb through which “meditation” becomes meditation rather than just relaxation or stabilising of the mind.
Guided “meditation”, “meditation” with music, “walking meditation”, and so on are, in the Yogic framework, not meditation.
They are good preliminary practices, in that they relax the mind, but they do not usually1 qualify. The reason is that the mind is pulled outward through the senses, thus strengthening the existing outward tendencies. The objective of Yoga is to tilt the mind in the opposite direction - towards the Self - and so engaging the senses without explicit intention is counterproductive.
P: Ok, so what should I do? How do I practice Pratyaahaar?
The good news is that you already know how to practice Pratyaahaar.
In experiment #1, before you became aware of the listed sensations, they were abstracted in favour of the sense of sight, which was focused on the words on the screen. This is Pratyaahaarbetween different senses.
However, Pratyaahaar also works within a single sense.
Think of a time when you were talking to one person in a loud, crowded space. Even though others were speaking around you, the mind was able to easily filter out their voice from the background. It’s not like you didn’t hear anyone else - just that you weren’t “paying attention.”2
In Yogic terms, you were able to use your buddhi (the deciding factor) to direct the manas (attention, here) towards the particular object (vishay) of interest. The manas was asamprayog (not attached to) the other voices. This is Pratyaahaar within the sense of hearing.
Another example - try to remember a time that you were driving in the rain. The windshield wipers were on, but you were able to focus on the road. In Yogic terms, the buddhi was able to direct the manas towards the road rather than the moving windshield wipers. It’s not like you didn’t see the wipers - just that they were “abstracted” away (asamprayog). This is Pratyaahaar within the sense of sight.
You can even try this with the sense of touch with the following experiment.
Experiment #4: Place your hands in Jnanamudra so that the index finger is touching the thumb of the same hand.
Image Credit: tummee.com
Wait a few moments until you are able to feel your pulse on both sides. Now direct your attention (manas) to one side at a time, and notice what happens.
Notice how when the attention is focused on one side, the other sensation simply disappears (asamprayog), despite no physical movement. This is Pratyaahaar within the sense of touch.
Pratyaahaar and the kleshas
Consider the example of the party above.
You’re talking to someone, and are completely focused on their words. Your Pratyaahaar is working perfectly. Suddenly, behind you, someone says your name. What happens? Does your attention get pulled away?
The manas is more easily drawn towards objects which are coloured by the kleshas. The stronger the klesha, the higher the propensity for the mind to follow the object. In this case, the pramaana-vrittiof the sound of your name was coloured by the klesha of asmitaa, and so the manas was automatically drawn towards it.
This is also true for the other kleshas. The manas is easily drawn to things which are coloured by raag (attraction), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear).
To make this more clear, you can notice this in your own life. When you smell something that you like, or something that you don’t like, it draws your attention significantly more than a neutral smell. When you are at a bar or a party and you hear a song that you like (or don’t like), suddenly the music comes to the foreground of your attention.
Given this propensity, the weaker the kleshas are, the easier it is for the buddhi to control the attention. In colloquial terms, focus improves when the kleshas are weaker.
Pratyaahaar and the Buddhi
Normally, the buddhi is easily overpowered by the senses. Pratyaahaar is successful when the buddhi is able to direct the senses as a skilled charioteer is able to direct horses, even though the horses are a lot stronger.
Notice, with all the limbs of Yoga thus far, all that is happening is that the buddhi is able to control that layer of your being.
With the Yamas, the buddhi is able to control your interactions with the external world, rather than the body-mind running along the grooves of past tendencies.
With the Niyamas, the buddhi is able to control personal conduct such as cleanliness, contentment, etc.
With Aasana, the buddhi controls the movements and stillness of the body, rather than fidgeting and squirming about as we may normally do.
With Praanaayaam, the buddhi controls the movement of the Praana, starting with the breath - making it long and subtle.
Here, with Pratyaahaar, the buddhi now controls the ten indriyas, including the 5 senses.
But what are the Indriyas?
The mind has ten gates. Five are entrances, and the other five are exits.3 These gates are called the Indriyas (or powers, literally “belonging to Indra”).
The 5 entrances are the organs of perception. In order of decreasing subtlety, they are:
The power of Hearing
The power of Touch
The power of Sight
The power of Taste
The power of Smell
The 5 exits are the organs of action. In order of decreasing subtlety, they are:
The power of Speech
The power of Grasping
The power of Motion
The power of Procreation
The power of Excretion
As children, we are (usually) taught some degree of Pratyaahaar. A simple example is with potty-training, where we learn to direct the power of excretion with the buddhi, rather than letting it follow its own conditioned grooves.
Said simply, we wait to use this power until we are in an appropriate time and place. It is similar with the powers of procreation, and motion, and we practice these on a regular basis. As a result of this practice, we are able to reset our tendencies (samskaaras) to some degree.
However, for many of us, the other Indriyas are often ignored. To the degree that we practice their withdrawal, we are able to direct their action (or inaction) skillfully. Otherwise, we use these powers mindlessly - just as the fish swims, as if automatically, towards the bait on a hook.
Pratyaahaar is the practice of withdrawing all these ten Indriyas at will, so that the buddhi can control them skillfully.
This is significantly easier when the kleshas are weaker, and so Kriya Yoga, ek-tattva-abhyaas, the Four Attitudesand the other preliminary practices are usually a better place to start. If you find yourself feeling frustrated at distractions, even in your day to day life, click on those links to learn more.
If the Yogi attempts to practice Pratyaahaar without first weakening the kleshas, it can lead to suppression, which most often leads to a strengthening of the kleshas, thus making it harder in the long run. Additionally, it can lead to frustration as the manas is constantly distracted from the buddhi’s desired object of focus.
Pratyaahaar is the bridge between the external and internal limbs of Yoga. Without it, meditation can be a struggle. With it, the Yogi is empowered to control their attention, and befriend their mind rather than fighting with it.
In order to successfully practice Pratyaahaar, it is helpful to first understand the tendencies of your senses. Try the practice suggested below, and take notes. This way, you will be able to clearly see the grooves that your attention tends to follow, so that you can intentionally adjust them for the best results.
Until next time:
Set a timer for 5 minutes and sit quietly in your Aasana.
Watch your manas carefully. Which senses most easily pull it outward? Are there particular objects that draw your attention more easily?
Take notes and find patterns.
Optional: Set a timer for 15 minutes and intentionally bring your attention, moment to moment, on the single strongest sensation.
There are scenarios in which these may qualify as meditation, but only when the object in question is the aalambanaa or support for the mind. More on the concept of aalambanaa when we get to the sixth limb, Dhaaranaa.
Traditionally speaking, the exits are the sense organs. The idea here is that the mind “goes out” of the sense organs and “wraps” around the object in order to take its shape.
